Univision net revs rose even as net income fell in Q3

Network touts gains in ratings

It was good news and not-so-good news for Spanish-language media giant Univision, which unveiled its third quarter results Friday.

While its third quarter net revs rose 7.6% from $584.6 million the year prior to $628.9 million, third quarter net income declined from $290 million during the same period in 2011 to just $10.6 million this year, citing a $53.2 million impairment loss and steeper restructuring, severance and related charges among the causes.

Univision revamped its sales and management team amid disappointing mid-single digit upfront growth, per Univision chief financial officer Andy Hobson in a conference call Friday morning. Political advertising amounted to $8.5 million in the third quarter. Univision has amped up its coverage of the U.S. presidential elections, with unprecedented forums staged with each presidential candidate.

On the upside, the privately held company ranked as the No. 3 network among adults 18-34 nationwide, outdelivering ABC and CBS auds, and ranked No. 4 with the 18-49 demo. Univision continued its “extraordinarily high concentration of live viewership among adults 18-49 of 91%,” said Univision prexy and CEO Randy Falco in a statement.

Company marked its 50th year anni with a new logo and tagline this year and recently launched digital video network UVideos in its continued bid to diversify its 24-hour online reach. Univision’s “interactive properties together generated over 100 million visits and more than one billion page views,” per Falco.

The Univision-ABC 24-hour news channel is set to launch July 1 although it is “more realistic to say third quarter of next year, as things like this can slip,” Hobson said. Univision has put a $25 million cap on its capital contributions in the new Miami-based joint venture with $11 million already invested. The new partnership will serve marketers looking for multiple ways to reach the Hispanic community and “remove the language barrier that have kept many influencers and politicians from having access to our community,” Hobson said.